What has happened to the FDA???

What happened to the FDA, are they nothing but a name growing fat off a pay check. Are there any inspectors anymore watching these food preparation plants catching improper practices or do they just wait for the public to start showing signs of food sicknesses before they go into action. I haven't seen the USDA seal stamped on meat or its packaging in years. Why im I raving, another case of contaminated meat reported again. Will it ever stop!

Back in the 70s you were told not to eat raw chop meat or you will get worms, not cook it until it's chard or it will kill you like today.

The FDA has no more meat inspectors, they have been phased out . All the plants are on self inspection which is a farce. FDA does not respond to a problem until after the problem occurs. In other words a recall the contaminated product has already been released to the public and almost all consumed before they issue a recall. They are a total joke. An example is the peanut butter problem years ago > The plant was still shipping and allowed to stay open way after the contaminated product was detected. The plant was filthy and in fact the peanut butter got contaminated by stagnant water leaking into the ceiling from holes in the roof which was like that a long time.

Well FDA and USDA are different. Many large food production plants have a USDA office on premises. You also don't get involved with the USDA until you have a certain percentage of meat in your products.

The FDA has no more meat inspectors, they have been phased out . All the plants are on self inspection which is a farce. FDA does not respond to a problem until after the problem occurs. In other words a recall the contaminated product has already been released to the public and almost all consumed before they issue a recall. They are a total joke. An example is the peanut butter problem years ago > The plant was still shipping and allowed to stay open way after the contaminated product was detected. The plant was filthy and in fact the peanut butter got contaminated by stagnant water leaking into the ceiling from holes in the roof which was like that a long time.

from related thread...

Can someone show me where all meat inspectors have

Quote:

Originally Posted by ED BUCHANAN

There are no more USDA inspectors. They were phased out by the government and meat packers were all put on self inspection.

Hello Ed,

Can you show me where all meat inspectors were put out of work and replaced by self inspection? I was aware that this had happened with the Poultry inspectors, But it looks as if beef and pork still have mandatory USDA inspectors.

The FDA has been systematically gutted by a series of budget cuts which began during the Reagan administration. This article was written in 2007. Since that time there have been more cuts to FDA funding.

Over the last few days, I have watched the media (TV News) re contaminated? beef. The solution/recommendation) was to cook (or overcook same) to kill bacteria, etc. Now that you mention it, I recall an FDA(?) blue inky stamp that bled all over my fingers. Have not paid attention or noticed same in years. I also vaguely remember Mad Cow disease. Eat chicken. ;-)

As @kuan pointed out, meat inspectors are USDA. They are still stationed in large meat processing plant but their methods (outlined by the government) are antiquated. There is a push by meat producers to revamp the USDA inspection because it is not scientific based. Most meat contamination are found by microbiological testing not by the antiquated "sniff test" that the USDA have been using for years. The poultry industry is self regulated because the inspectors were slowing down the line and they proved that the sniff test does not work. It's a vicious circle.

The FDA deal in non-meat, non-produce, non-alcoholic foods mostly. The system is reactive meaning all food manufacturers are bound to follow the publicly available regulations. They should expect a yearly inspection. More rigorous inspections are mandated by complaints. Most complaints are label driven by the competition. Again, a vicious circle here.

There seems to be lots of people, around the internet, saying that USDA meat inspectors have been phased out. I'm not sure where this started from, perhaps it was a semi-clever MEME spread around Facebook...or just confusion with some articles being written about the poultry industry.

I think we all would agree that the USDA needs to jump into the current day. Are you aware of any new methods being discussed? I'm not sure I see a way out of this with the current political climate (both sides). There's so much propaganda on both the consumer and the farmer side that I'm not sure how we will stop this cycle. Makes me happy I have a close relationship with my local farmers and slaughter house.

On to the FDA...same bunch of complaints and I see no meaningful change in sight. Only saving grace I can think of here is that this should push a local food movement.

Ed, I'd love to read anything you have that says the meat inspectors have been phased out. I will even agree with you if I can confirm that they have indeed been phased out and I was unaware. But if everything points to meat inspectors still inspecting in facilities you've got to quit using the strong wording you have been saying that all inspectors have been phased out.

They used to have an inspector in every plant , now they visit the plant. The government has cut their budget so much' Re. food, chicken as well as meat inspections that it is impossible for them to function. My best friend was a meat inspector , he retired , he was never replaced. The other matter that should be addressed even more is where the meat comes from(the Source) Senator David Purdue is very active in this. Our meat comes from Romania, Brazil, Chili, Australia you name it. How do we even know if it is inspected. The packers lobbies don't want it to say the source on the label and constantly fight it. I hope it does not get like imported fish where only 20% OF THE IMPORTED STUFF IS INSPECTED. I was told something years ago that I am inclined to agree with. The purveyor told me that contaminated beef is in some cases cooked and then used for fillings in things like pizza rolls, hot pockets etc. If this is true I don't know.? I do know however that contaminated meat is taken from the plant by truck to somewhere? Where has never been divulged.

Aannnnd......this is why I only buy local and get to KNOW my farmers and their practices by taking the time out to visit their farms. I also personally get to know my butchers and their practices. They are not the factory meat processing crap plants that everyone still buys from.

I grew up in Canada on a ranch. This was at a time when the government decided to change their subsidies to stock yard cattle instead of our open range cattle (it used to be both stock yard and open range could get subsidies). Killed our livelihood and the meat industry/production as we know it. We knew it was wrong back then but everyone wants convenience as sold to you by the corporations and government to be a good thing. We NEVER had a time where our ranch raised beef, pork, chicken or lamb, even our raw milk, ever made us sick.......quote that "NEVER". The more we get off our lazy convenient arses and get out there to buy local the more "convenient" that type of product will become. Keep it small, keep it responsible. I don't need a government/corporate run inspector to tell me what I intuitively know already.......if you don't take off the horns and hooves and wipe it's arse before you through it on a grill......odds are you're gonna get sick! lol K......end rant.....hehehe

It's so easy to point out weaknesses in a system and not offer (viable) alternatives.

Is the answer to have a government inspector inspect every piece of meat, fruit and vegetable that arrives in a cargo ship, slaughtered or picked in the field? Or is it better to keep a watch on past offenders and manufacturers of at risk foods. Because of this approach, US/Canada and the EU have by far the safest food in the world.

There is a great deal of sensationalism in food recalls. Meat is the worst (best) to attract headlines but in reality there are many recalls that don't make the headlines: see the list of FDA recalls for 2015.

Food safety regulations are based on statistics. It's a numbers game. The more tons of a type of food is manufactured/sold, the greater the chances of a recall. Although I have not found a good reference for this, I came across this article:

The article explains that organic food recalls will increase because the sale volumes increases (more volume increases the chances of getting more recalls).

We (will) hear more about food recalls because we produce, import, demand, eat and buy more food. Food safety should be reported as tons of food recalled per tons of foods manufactured then that would give a sense if things are getting worst or better.... but probably not many want to know that 30 000 cattle are slaughtered per day in one processing plant.

Food for thought:

Are every airplane crash reported in the news (make the big headlines)? Does air travel become less safe with every crash? How many successful flights are there per crash reported?

1. Food poisonings could affect thousands, not simply a plane crash or 2. How can any average citizen offer alternatives when our government is so corrupt and only listens to big money. The government usually steps in after the food is released for consumption. By the time it does anything ,in most cases the food has been consumed. Every regulation that would help the consumer is driven down into the ground by big food business lobbyist, Tyson, Smithfield, Purdue lead the parade. If the Senate or house speak up against them they will not receive funding from them, and God knows they don't want to loose that. Its all in the name of economics.

The purveyor told me that contaminated beef is in some cases cooked and then used for fillings in things like pizza rolls, hot pockets etc. If this is true I don't know.? I do know however that contaminated meat is taken from the plant by truck to somewhere? Where has never been divulged.

By the time it does anything ,in most cases the food has been consumed.

For every need there is an opportunity to make money. That is fundamentally how capitalism works.

in the video above, Beef Product Inc. guarantees that every single box of product they manufacture is pathogen free! They were never part of any food recall ever and with their policy will never be. They gained the trust of the biggest companies in the world.

I had thought that poultry was currently under self-inspection...I was wrong as well.

I just got off the phone with my slaughter house and they said they couldn't operate if the USDA inspector wasn't there. They said he is on site every hour that they're open and slaughtering animals...they wouldn't be able to operate, as they do, any other way...she said.

I can understand how people may not be happy with some of our current inspection methods, but the amount of inaccurate information that gets passed around, knowingly, is astounding...especially when some people are in positions where they should know better. The best way to get better inspections methods is not to scare people with misinformation. Instead it's to educate the population and teach them better methods that can be adopted.